The Best Happy Hours In Manhattan

Every NYC Happy Hour worth knowing about, all in one place.

Every day, you show up to work ready and able to tackle whatever comes your way - or to look productive enough not to get fired. And when that glorious moment arrives when you’ve either crossed enough tasks off your to-do list or read the entire internet, you deserve to bust out of that office and get yourself to the nearest drinking facility. This guide will help.

This is your back-pocket guide to the best Happy Hours in New York City, organized by neighborhood. All the deals, days, and times listed here have been fact-checked, so you can make your plans with confidence.

Read up, drink up, repeat.

The Spots

lower east side

This is one LES bar that doesn’t get too crazy. The little neighborhood spot makes some good drinks, but you won’t find anyone dancing here. Grab a seat in the corner and drink a frozen cocktail. And if the weather is nice, check out the backyard.

Black Crescent is a dark little bar on the LES that happens to serve some great oysters, and also stuffed calamari and duck pot pie. Aside from the food, it’s pretty normal here and a good spot for a low-key Happy Hour.

Eastwood is bright and casual, and sort of feels like a coffee shop with alcohol. Hang out and get some 2-for-1 beers (this place is beer-and-wine-only), and have some of their Mediterranean bar food if you’re hungry.

A fantastic choice for a first date, made even better (i.e. cheaper) during Happy Hour. There’s live music most nights, and a much better than average bar food menu. Start with oysters and go from there.

La Compagnie is one of the better wine bars in NYC, and it feels sort of like a living room. There’s plenty of seating, and it’s good for groups or a first date. Maybe do this at Happy Hour, when the glasses of wine cost as little as $5.

noho & east village

Good Night Sonny is a cocktail bar in the East Village, but it doesn’t take itself as seriously as PDT or Death & Co. And as much as we like Death & Co., we appreciate the casual atmosphere here. And $8 margaritas and martinis don’t hurt.

These people do a very impressive Happy Hour. It lasts for six hours most days and goes all day on Sunday and Monday. All drinks are 2-for-1 - and the only catch is that this bar itself isn’t too impressive. It’s a little, divey neighborhood place, but it can be fun with a group of friends.

A small bar in the East Village serving excellent wine and some surprisingly good small plates. If wine is a priority for you (or you’re with a wine person), come here for Happy Hour. It’s one of the nicer options in the East Village.

Maiden Lane is an Alphabet City bar that’s perfect for some casual day drinking. It’s friendly, there are plenty of windows, and they do a handful of seafood small plates. It feels like a real neighborhood spot, and we suggest you come here with friend or two early in the night.

This is a cross between a dive bar and a cocktail lounge, and it’s the best of both worlds. They make good drinks, but it also has the slightly gritty East Village vibes that you sometimes find yourself in the mood for. Come get your night started here.

greenwich village

The Folly is in a nautical-themed basement on Houston, and it’s very easy to walk by without noticing it. If you do make it inside, you’ll find a fun, dark place to hang out with a date or a group when you want to drink somewhere with minimal natural light.

west village

During the daytime, Upright Brew House is a coffee shop where you can get a pastry and work on a novel that’s probably more autobiographical than you had intended. But at night it turns into a bar with a full dinner menu and a selection of obscure beers that any beer nerd will appreciate. These beers are also $2 off until 7pm every weekday, and there’s some seating out front when it’s warm outside.

One of the quirkier bars around (Star Wars paraphernalia abounds), this is a good place to bring your coworkers during Happy Hour to let your freak flags fly. It feels much more like a place you’d find in a liberal arts college town than in the middle of Manhattan.

union square

Ichabod’s is a restaurant a few blocks from Union Square, and it functions as a nice neighborhood pub for the people who live and work in the area. The space is just one big room, and they serve things along the lines of brick chicken and a kale caesar. Bring your boss, or try this place for a Happy Hour date.

The Deal: $5 Cans; $6 Selects; $6 House Wine; $8 Gin And Tonic Of The Day

The Winslow may not look like much from the outside (especially if you’re judging it by its IHOP and 7-11 neighbors), but it’s actually a nice place to sit and have a cocktail, especially for the Union Square area.

nomad & flatiron

Tavern29 is a two-story bar with TVs, chandeliers, and exactly one thing that sets it apart: a rooftop. It isn’t very high, so you won’t get much of a view, but there a bunch of picnic tables that are perfect for outdoor group drinking in Nomad. And if the weather isn’t great, you can grab a table inside and eat a burger.

If you’re somewhere around Kips Bay or Nomad and need somewhere to drink with a group, Turnmill Bar is a good spot to know about. It’s a big, clean pub with high ceilings and plenty of large tables, and there are few TVs for people who can’t drink without watching sports.

Shorty’s is a sports bar serving many kinds of bar food, but they’re best known for their cheesesteaks. So if you feel like having some beef and cheez whiz while you catch whatever game is on TV, come here. It isn’t fancy, but it’s good for a group hang.

gramercy & murray hill

The Deal: $5 Drafts, Cocktails, and Glasses Of Wine; $15 For A Burger And Manhattan

If you want to grab a drink and maybe have something to eat in Murray Hill, this is one of your best options. It’s a restaurant/cocktail bar serving slightly fancy bar food, although you should probably do their Happy Hour burger-and-Manhattan deal.

Discounted beers plus free, serve-yourself popcorn are a match made in Happy Hour heaven. On Wednesdays, bottles and glasses of wine are all half-off. This is also a great place to pregame a movie at the nearby AMC - extra points for sneaking in the aforementioned popcorn.

A classic pub with one very important twist: they make excellent Italian sandwiches during the day until 5pm. Which means that from 4 to 5pm, when Happy Hour and sandwich hours overlap, you need to be at Puffy’s.

chelsea

There’s a Cooper’s Craft & Kitchen in the East Village, but we prefer the location in Chelsea. It’s smaller, and it feels less like a sports bar for undergrads and more like a little cabin where you can get a good beer. There’s also a seating area in the back that works for dates, and the weekday Happy Hour is perfect for whenever you decide that you don’t want to go to work.

midtown

A surf-themed bar two blocks from Times Square might sound like something you wouldn’t even wish upon your least-favorite coworker - but it also might be fun, depending on what kind of mindset you’re in. If you want to drink something cheap and maybe play beer pong while you stare at a portrait of Patrick Swayze on the wall, go for it. This is a good place to relieve some stress after a day spent in cubicle on 52nd Street.

If you ever find yourself wandering around Hell’s Kitchen, and you feel like drinking a beer in a place that isn’t a sports bar, try As Is. This place has a great beer selection (as well as cocktails and natural wine), and with all the exposed brick and potted plants, it’s about 20 times nicer than every other casual bar in the area.

upper east side

For a casual drink at the upper end of the Upper East Side, go to The Rochard. This place is from the same people behind The Jeffrey and Fools Gold, and it similarly has a great craft beer selection along with some above-average bar food. You can either sit at the long bar or grab a table, and you can stop by for trivia on Wednesday nights.

Ethyl’s Alcohol and Food exists on the Upper East Side, which is strange. It’s strange because Ethyl’s is a 70’s-themed bar with divey tendencies and occasional burlesque shows. It’s one of the most fun places to hang out on the UES. Come by for some early evening drinks (and maybe a burger) while you wait for their bingo night to start.

The Upper East Side isn’t really known for its bars - but Jack and Fanny’s is a surprisingly nice place. It’s a long, ’70s-themed room with some couches up front, and a bunch of booths in the back. There’s also a bocce ball court, which feels like an appropriate thing to use during Happy Hour.

upper west side

If you live on the Upper West Side, there’s a decent chance that E’s Bar is your favorite place for a casual drink. It’s as laid-back as a dive bar, but it’s cleaner, the food is better, and there are big booths and board games. Stop by for a drink after work, or come play Scattergories with your super after you call in sick.

Cheap oysters, cheap drinks. The Mermaid Inn is a neighborhood seafood restaurant (with a second location downtown), and we especially like it for a the dollar-oyster Happy Hour. Bring your kids and chug a decent amount of wine.

Australians are taking over Manhattan, and their reach has officially stretched all the way to the UWS, with this downtown-feeling bar that can only be described as an industrial saloon. Whether or not that appeals to you, the cocktails here are solid and 2-for-1 is hard to argue with.